Lib Island
  Lib Island (Marshall islands) | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | North Pacific |
| Coordinates | 8°19′N 167°25′E / 8.317°N 167.417°E |
| Archipelago | Ralik |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 0.93 km2 (0.36 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Country | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 115 (as of 1998) |
| Ethnic groups | Marshallese |
Lib Island (Marshallese: Ellep, [ɛ̯ɛlʲːɛpʲ][1]) is an island in the Pacific Ocean. It is a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is 0.93 km2. (0.36 sq. miles). The population of Lib Island is 115.
History
The first recorded sighting by Europeans of Lib Island happened on 8 January 1565 by Spanish navigator Alonso de Arellano commanding patache San Lucas. It was charted by Arellano as Los Nadadores (The Swimmers in Spanish). In his account of this sighting Arellano gives some comments of the inhabitants of Lib in 1565. He says that they would be fine for pulling an oar in a galley, being big and well made, and adds the interesting detail that they must be of the Devil because their island was a thousand leagues from firm land. A more valuable ethnological comment was that they were a warlike people, being expert in throwing stones with slings.[2]
References
- ↑ Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index
- ↑ Sharp, Andrew The discovery of the Pacific Islands Oxford, 1960, p.34
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